WO2013024319A1

WO2013024319A1 - Diabetic sock

Info

Publication number: WO2013024319A1
Application number: PCT/IB2011/002460
Authority: WO
Inventors: Nabeel TUMA
Original assignee: KHAMIS, Elias
Priority date: 2011-08-18
Filing date: 2011-10-17
Publication date: 2013-02-21

Abstract

This invention relates to a three - layered sock. This sock comprises an inner layer (4) made of electrically- conductive yarns (1) on the side making contact with the skin of a user, an intermediate layer (5) made of elastane yarns being on said inner layer, and an outer layer (6) made of natural yarns (3) being on said intermediate layer.

Description

DIABETIC SOCK

Technical Field

This invention relates to a sock with a three-layered structure, the inner surface of which making contact with the skin of the user wearing the sock is knitted with an electrically-conductive yarn. Background of Invention

Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects many organs. The effects of diabetes on the blood vessels and nerves bring about sensory losses in the extremities of the body. Thus, foot injuries and traumas may not be realized due to sensory losses. The wound sites, for instance, cannot be nourished or healed well with the deterioration of blood vessels, and resultantly, a convenient medium develops for microbial growth. Consequently, the wounds on the feet of the diabetics may turn into a so-called "diabetic foot syndrome". These wounds heal with difficulty, and may cause complications which in turn may lead to gangrene or even require amputation of the foot.

12-15% of the diabetics are at the risk of developing foot ulcer throughout their life. Around 82.000 diabetic amputation cases occur annually in the United States only. Silver, as a conductor, has been known to have antimicrobial and antibacterial effects for many years. Silver destroys the cell membrane of microbes and prevents their reproduction by means of the electrons it emits. It is also known that silver is useful in terms of healing the wounds of diabetics, and particularly the wounds occurring on the feet of diabetics by making use of silver in the production of socks. Accordingly, the Turkish utility model application 2007/02596 discloses a sock made from cotton (70%), polyamide (20%), and statex (silver polyamide) (10%). The yarns used in the sock disclosed in 2007/02596 have an intermingled structure, rather than a multilayered structure, of cotton, polyamide and statex. Since, in this intermingled structure, the silver yarns cannot contact the skin of the respective user in the form a complete layer, no efficient results can be achieved in healing the wounds. On the other hand, use of three-layered socks, one layer of which is made of silver yarn, is also known. The socks produced by the firm "SoleMate'zz", for instance, comprise an inner layer of chitosan, an intermediary layer of silver yarns, and an outer layer of polyamide (see http://www.solematezz.com/technology/). The lack of a direct contact between the skin of the respective user and the layer composed of silver yarns makes this sock inefficient in terms of the diabetics.

Description of Invention

The object of this invention is to provide a sock, which is efficient particularly in terms of healing the wounds occurring on the feet of diabetics.

Another object of this invention is to provide a three-layered sock, the production costs of which are reduced by simplifying of its production. Accordingly, this invention provides a three-layered sock comprising an inner layer made of electrically-conductive yarns on the side making contact with the skin of a user, an intermediate layer made of elastane yarns being on said inner layer, and an outer layer made of natural yarns being on said intermediate layer. The layers making a three-layered sock according to the present invention are to be knitted in a single operation.

Among the figures annexed, Figure 1 illustrates the knitting structure of a sock according to the present invention, whereas Figure 2 depicts a cross-section of the same. The component numerals used in the figures are as follows:

1. electrically-conductive yarn

2. elastane yarn

3. natural yarn 4. inner layer

5. intermediate layer

6. outer layer The side of the three-layered sock according to the present invention making contact with the skin of a user is provided with an inner layer (4) having only electrically-conductive yarns (1). The term "electrically-conductive", as used in this description, means any kind of yarns, the core of which is made from a cotton yarn, polyester yarn, etc., and in which this core is covered with any metals which are electrically-conductive. These electrically-conductive yarns can either be conventional yarns produced by known methods, or other yarns which are produced under nanotechnology or via dyeing processes, or produced via other methods. Silver is preferred as the conductive metal, which gives quite positive results in terms of the performance/cost criterion, but other electrically-conductive yarns can be used as well, such as those made of cupper, tin, nickel, or even gold, or the combinations thereof, such as silver and copper etc. On the inner layer (4) made with conductive yarns (1) is provided an intermediate layer (5), which is made of elastane yarns (2). Since an elastane yarn (2) has a resilient structure, it wraps foot and keeps the sock properly on the foot. In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, bare elastane yarns (2) are used to increase the sock hygiene, but if desired, elastane yarns can be used together with synthetic yarns, such as nylon.

On the intermediate layer (5) is provided an outer layer (6). The outer layer (6) is made of natural yarns (3), such as those made of natural fibers of cotton, wool, viscose, bamboo, etc. The three-layered structure according to this invention is obtained by angularly positioning each shuttle of three different yarns (i.e. electrically-conductive yarn (1), elastane yarn (2), and natural yarn (3)) to the respective needle which is to conduct the knitting process. In other words, the yarns are simultaneously fed to the knitting machine at three different angles. That is three different yarns (1 , 2, 3) are fed to the knitting machine in a single operation, but at different angles. Therefore, each needle disposed in the knitting machine receives three different yarns at the same time as it produces the knitting, and as illustrated in Figure 1 , three different yarns are superimposed so as to give the desired three-layered sock by a single knitting operation. On the other hand, while the yarns are fed to the machine at different angles, they are preferably subjected to different tensions. Thus, both the yarns are fed at different angles from the shuttles, and are subjected to different tensions so that a three-layered sock is knitted more efficiently by a single process.

Since the inner layer (4) made of conductive yarns (1) contacts the skin of a user in a complete manner, and not only partially, it heals the foot wounds of diabetics more efficiently. This is because; the contact between a wound and the conductor is not a partial one, but a complete one. No multistage knitting processes are conducted here by which each layer is produced separately and combined thereafter.

In an embodiment of this invention, the inner layer (4) is provided only locally, and not completely, on the entire inner surface of the sock. This embodiment can be useful particularly for the cases where the wounds are present only locally on the foot. In this case, the cost of sock can be reduced since it will demand lesser electrically-conductive yarns (1).

Claims

A three-layered sock comprising an inner layer (4) made of electrically- conductive yarns (1) on the side making contact with the skin of its user, an intermediate layer (5) made of elastane yarns (2) being on said inner layer (4), and an outer layer (6) made of natural yarns (3) being on said intermediate layer (5).

A sock according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the conductive material of said electrically-conductive yarn is selected from the group consisting of silver, cupper, tin, nickel, gold, and a combination of these metals.

A sock according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the yarns (1 , 2, 3) of the layers (4, 5, 6) making the three-layered sock are knitted by a single operation.

A sock according to Claim 1 , characterized in that said elastane yarn (2) is a bare elastane.

A sock according to Claim 1 , characterized in that said natural yarn is a yarn made of a natural fiber such as of cotton, wool, viscose, bamboo, etc.

A sock according to claims 1 and 3, characterized in that said electrically- conductive yarn (1), elastane yarn (2), and natural yarn (3) are fed from their respective shuttles to the respective needle of the knitting machine in a single step and at different angles, and under differing tensions, for knitting.